critical Review 9: Neustadt

Neustadt discusses the similarities and differences in styles and perceptions of the son music tradition as well as more modern forms of Cuban music, especially timba. He focuses on two specific examples: Buena Vista Social Club (son) and Charanga Habanera (timba). Both son and timba have similar lyrical themes, some of which are offensive, including those that involve derogatory messages about women. However, outsiders have come to appreciate son and know little or nothing about timba, assuming son is a more authentic form of Cuban music, partly because it is older. Neustadt describes how foreigners become enamored with son, especially that of Buena Vista, because rather than listening to and understanding the lyrics, listeners are attracted to the marketed exotic Cuban image which emphasizes that it is a traditional gem. Foreigners still know little about modern forms of Cuban music, and many of these musicians are frustrated at the thought that they might have to wait as long as the Buena Vista musicians did for their music to be discovered and appreciated internationally.


Question for Discussion:
At what point does the music of a specific culture become a tradition? Is there an amount of time that must go by for it to be considered a valid representation of a culture's music? Or does any music produced by members of a certain culture automatically represent the culture's music?